An Ode Long Forgotten
by King KP
Summary: Ten year old Rapunzel discovers a new love, odes. But Rapunzel finds that she can't even write without being controlled by the ever tyrannical Mother Gothel.


Random idea that hit me whilst reading an ode. There's no romance here, just innocent mother/daughter fluff...

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Tangled is all Disney's sadly...

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"Flower darling, it's time to let mummy brush your hair!" Gothel sang in her usual melodious voice.

A dark eyebrow arched at the sight of her ten year old daughter walking into the room with her nose buried in a book. She clumsily collided with the door frame and flushed red from embarrassment. Gothel couldn't help but chuckle at the sight and patted the stool with a smirk on her face. Rapunzel sat down and continued to read as Gothel brushed her hair.

"Ahem?" Gothel cleared her throat expectantly. "You can start singing any day now Rapunzel, I'm not getting any younger dear!" The naïve blonde did not yet know how literal that statement was.

"Oh! Sorry mother! Flower…gleam and glow. Let your power shine…" Rapunzel mumbled the song half heartedly. The magic flowed through her hair slower than molasses and Gothel sighed in frustration. The magic wouldn't work this way.

"Rapunzel, enough with the mumbling! You know how much I loathe your gibberish. Sing correctly or you may as well not sing at all." The older woman chastised in stern yet motherly tones.

"Sorry mother. I'll start again. Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine…" Rapuznel sang more confidently this time, but she was still distracted.

Gothel began to brush, she could feel the magic working. It flowed like a warm river through her veins, ironing the wrinkles on her face and turning the few grey hairs she was beginning to sport in healthy raven curls.

"Make the ode reverse… I mean clock!" Rapunzel stammered. The magic stopped and Gothel's rejuvenation was left unfinished.

"Oh honestly Rapunzel! What are you reading that's distracted you so?" The frustrated mother snatched the book away and read the cover. "A Collection of Odes? I suppose I need to pay more attention to what I buy you." Gothel mused quietly.

"Oh mother, odes are so _wonderful_." The young princesses' green eyes sparkled joyful as she recalled the wonderful poetry she had read. "I want to make an ode to _all _of the beautiful things in the world!"

Gothel's ruby lips twitched into a tiny smirk. "So I'm assuming the subject will be me then?" There was a hint of hope in her words. She'd never admit it herself, but the raven haired beauty hoped her daughter would say yes.

"Well I could put you in it, but I have to put other things too!" Rapunzel looked around, seeking her muse. "An ode to paint!"

"That's silly Rapunzel, why would you make an ode to paint?" Gothel scoffed.

"Because it's beautiful! An ode to the birds that sing outside then?" Green eyes searched grey ones for any sign of approval. They found none.

"That annoying twitter? Please flower…"

Rapunzel bit her lip, thinking hard. "How about an ode to…" A crease formed between her eyebrows in deep concentration. Suddenly, the blonde's green eyes illuminated with an epiphany. "I know! I know!" The child danced giddily around the room, looking for paper.

"What? What will you write an ode to?" Gothel's eyes idly followed her daughter around the room. She couldn't say it was of much interest to her.

_It's probably about the river. I know how badly she wants to go swimming in it, she pesters me all the time…_

"An ode to the floating lights!" Gothel's heart dropped. Her lips pressed into a tight, thin line and her grey eyes darkened into a look of stony indifference.

"You mean the stars Rapunzel?" It was more of a warning than a question.

"No mother, the ones we see on my birthday! They're beautiful…" The child sighed dreamily.

"Rapunzel, I won't have you write an ode to stars. There are so many of them, they're not special or unique. Choose a different topic." The slightly envious mother snatched the papers out of her daughter's hands.

"They're special to me!" Rapunzel stamped her foot defiantly.

"Why Rapunzel? The stars weren't made for you!" Gothel knew it was the exact opposite.

"Then why do they only appear on my birthday?" Demanded Rapunzel.

"Coincidence! The world doesn't revolve around you Rapunzel! You're not that important to _anyone!_" Gothel finished off with a shout. The silence that followed was dense and filled with all sorts of electric emotions.

"Not even to you, mother?" Rapunzel's voice cracked with held back tears.

"That's not what I meant flower…" Regret filled Gothel's heart, weighing it down like an anchor.

"Never mind. I won't write an ode today…" Rapunzel trudged upstairs, defeated.

The remorseful woman sat down at the dinner table and rubbed her temples. She had to remind herself that all this…brat meant to her was a symbol of all the things which the kingdom had stolen from right under her nose. But somehow, the daughter who was never hers had managed to burrow a tiny hole into Gothel's nearly impenetrable defense and make her home there.

Many years later, Rapunzel did write an ode. She painted it under her bed when she was fourteen, once she had almost completely forgotten about their argument four years prior.

The ode was about shimmering raven feathers, and the deepest shade of crimson velvet.

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Okay so maybe I lied. The ending is meant to have a liiiittle bit of...no I won't say it. It's open to interpretation... Read and Review people! Reviews are my drug, help me get my fix? XD


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